New England-style clam chowder

In the countdown to our 50th anniversary, Gourmet Traveller heads back to where we began with this New England-style clam chowder.

Aug 29, 2016 2:00pm

By Emma Knowles & Lisa Featherby

20 mins preparation

30 mins cooking

Serves 6

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New England-style clam chowder

The New England clam chowder gets a modern makeover as this year marks our 50th birthday. There are many varieties of chowder in the US, but the New England style is a favourite. Crackers can be crumbled in to thicken it, or you can just dip them in as you go.

Method

Main

1

Melt butter in a large saucepan over high heat. Add bacon, celery and onion, and sauté until vegetables are softened (about 10 minutes).

2

Meanwhile, bring wine to the boil in a separate large saucepan, add clams, cover with a lid and cook, shaking pan occasionally, until the clams open (2-3 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve, set clams aside to cool briefly and add cooking liquid to the bacon mixture along with the stock. Remove the clam meat from most of the shells, reserving a few in their shells for garnish.

3

Bring stock mixture to the boil over mediumhigh heat, add potato, cream and bay leaf, and simmer uncovered until potato is tender, coarsely breaking it up with a wooden spoon towards the end of cooking (15-20 minutes). Add bream, reduce heat to medium and simmer chowder uncovered until bream is almost cooked through (4-5 minutes). Add scallops and simmer until almost cooked (1 minute), then stir in parsley and reserved clams and clam meat and season to taste. Scatter with extra parsley and serve hot with saltine crackers for dipping or breaking into chowder.